STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
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JOINT RESOLUTION COMMEMORATING MARTIN LUTHER
KING, JR. DAY
WHEREAS, January 20, 2025 marks the national and state holiday in honor of the
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., commemorating his birth on January 15, 1929; and
WHEREAS, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Baptist minister who
advocated the furtherance of civil and human rights for all Americans through nonviolence;
and
WHEREAS, this man of great moral conviction and spirit showed this country a dream of
"an oasis of freedom and justice"; and
WHEREAS, Dr. King, a model of an American patriot, provided the nation with one of
the most prophetic and influential voices in our history; and
WHEREAS, for his tireless work to ensure equality and justice through nonviolence, Dr.
King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, a high and honorable distinction, in 1964; and
WHEREAS, his eloquence, his perseverance and his faith moved mountains and brought
about systemic legal and social changes; and
WHEREAS, the life of Dr. King, which ended so tragically on April 4, 1968, is a shining
example to Americans and citizens of the world of uncompromising dedication to the highest
ideals of freedom, justice and equality; and
WHEREAS, Dr. King was the first African American to be honored with a memorial on
the National Mall in Washington, D.C. with the dedication of the Martin Luther King, Jr.
Memorial in West Potomac Park in 2011; and
WHEREAS, in Maine, the Honorable Gerald E. Talbot of Portland submitted legislation
in 1975 to create a day commemorating Dr. King prior to the federal legislation creating the
holiday; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: That We, the Members of the One Hundred and Thirty-second Legislature
now assembled in the First Regular Session, on behalf of the people we represent, take this
opportunity to acknowledge the extraordinary life and works of this teacher, reformer and
humanitarian, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and pause in our deliberations to
recognize and commemorate the occasion of his birth.
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